Form fitting pew cushion



July 25, 1967 w. HAHNLEIN 3,332,0 2

FORM FITTING FEW CUSHION Filed Feb. 23, 1965 v if g. 2.

Will 11am #0/9/ik/h,

United States Patent 3,332,092 FORM FITTING PEW CUSHION William Hahnlein, Glendale, Calif., assignor to Hamlin Manufacturing Co., Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Feb. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 434,506 1 Claim. (Cl. -345) The present invention relates generally to seat cushions, and is more particularly concerned with a cushion which is custom tailored to fit the contour of an associated seating surface.

Cushions embodying the features of the herein described invention are susceptible of general use in connection with seats of different and varied type of construction. In its broad concept, the present invention therefore is not limited to any particular type of seat. However, for purposes of illustration, the invention will be described herein in connection with church pews, a field where it is most efiicacious and in which it solves many of the inherent and present problems which occur in conventional upholstered church pews.

Upholstered church pews presently are a very expensive construction and cannot be afforded by the average church. In those cases where upholstered pews are provided, the seats are cushioned with a permanent type of upholstering which presents problems of maintenance due to wear and cleaning. Moreover, it becomes a very expensive procedure to replace such cushions when they become worn.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a relatively inexpensive cushion of unitary construction which is tailored to interfit with the seating surface of a conventional nonupholstered pew seat, and which when utilized will provide in effect an attractive, serviceable cushion having the appearance of and seating characteristics of the most expensive permanently upholstered pew seats.

A further object is to provide a removable cushion unit which is permanently contoured to the seating surface with which it is to be associated, and which in a position of use will be nonslippingly anchored on the seating surface.

Briefly, the form fitting pew cushion of the present invention embodies an internal rigid body structure which is preformed to the contour of the pew seat, this body structure having a layer of cushioning material coextensive with its upper surface and held in place by the overlying upholstering material which is secured along edge portions to the under surface of the body. The under surface of the body is provided with a layer of antiskid material to hold the cushion against slippage on the seat.

Further objects of the invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective View of a church pew having the cushions of the present invention applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view transversely of the seat portion of the pew, taken substantially on line 22 of FIG. 1.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, for illustrative purposes, there is shown in FIG. 1 a conventional church pew as generally indicated at 10, and as having a conventional back 11 and seat portion 12. A pew cushion 13, which embodies the features of the present invention, is shown as being supported on the seat portion of the pew.

As is customary in pew constructions, the upper surface of the seat portion is usually contoured from the front to rear of the seat in order to provide greater comfort to the seated occupant. Thus, the upper surface of the seat portion 12 is curved downwardly towards the center to provide a centrally extending curved upper surface 14 which extends longitudinally of the seat and is depressed below the forward edge margin 15 and rear edge margin 16 of the seat. While the general configuration is similar in church pews of different manufacture, such seating surfaces may vary slightly as to configuration and dimensions.

It is therefore a broad concept of the herein described invention to provide a unitary cushion structure which will be tailored to the contour of the seating surface of the pew so that when the cushion is applied it will in effect form an intimately associated structure similar to that of conventional more expensive upholstered pew seats.

More specificall in carrying out the concepts of the present invention, the cushion as shown in FIG. 2 comprises a rigid inner body structure 17 which is composed of a plurality of plywood sheets, in this case the two plywood sheets 18 and 19 which are in superposed relation. To conform the body structure to the upper surface of the pew seat, the plywood sheets in their initial flat form are molded or otherwise deformed so as to conform to the contour of the pew seat upon which the cushions are to be used. While in this deformed condition, the plywood sheets are bonded between their confronting and engaged surfaces by means of a suitable glue, epoxy or other conventionally available securing means. When so bonded the plywood sheets will remain in the deformed condition. The sheets thus form a laminated structure of great strength, and with the required rigidity. The inner body structure is covered on its upper surface with a layer of suitable cushioning material such as rubber, foam rubber, and the like as indicated at 20. A thin filler layer 21 may be placed above the cushioning material 20, and over this there is stretched upholstering material 22 which may be any one of the many available upholstering fabrics, plastic materials etc. The edge margins of the upholstering material are carried down and around the edges of the cushioning material and the laminated body structure and secured along the under surface margins of the lowermost plywood sheet 18.

In order to further provide a finished cushion unit and means for retaining the unit in a position of use on an associated seat structure, the underside of the body struc ture is provided with a layer of anti-skid material 23 which may be of rubber or other suitable material. While this has been shown as completely covering the under surface of the body structure, it is also conceivable that this may be in the form of strips at the front margin and rear margin of the cushion.

By constructing the cushions as described above, they may be fabricated to extend the full length of a pew seat or may be made into shorter sections to accommodate one or more persons. These cushions will be retained by the rigid inner body so that they will conform and fit in a tailored manner to the pew seat and thus prevent wrinkling of the upholstering material. The cushions will be held against skidding or slipping, but when desired they may be readily removed for cleaning and renovation, and even replacement of the upholstering material if desired.

Various modifications may suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of my invention, and, hence, I do not wish to be restricted to the specific form shown or uses mentioned, except to the extent indicated in the appended claim.

I claim:

A unitary cushion structure for providing in a nonupholstered pew the equivalent of a contoured built-in upholstered seat on the pew, said cushion comprising:

(a) an inner rigid body structure of superposed plywood sheets deformed to conform to the contour of the seating surface of a pew on which the cushion is to be placed, and thereafter being bonded together;

(b) an overlying layer of padding above the upper plywood sheet of the body structure;

(c) an outer covering of upholstering material over said padding having marginal edge portions extending downwardly and inwardly over marginal edge portions of the lower plywood sheet; and

(d) a layer of anti-skid material on the under surface of the lower plywood sheet having marginal portions overlapping the upholstering edge margins thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,364,093 12/1944 OConner 297458 3,111,689 11/1963 Mulhauser 297458 X 3,252,736 5/ 1966 Schrock 297452 DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKI, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner.

A. M. CALVERT, Assistant Examiner. 

